


Learning to Flaunt It

by Chezmeralda



Series: With a Step Forward, I'm Closer to Reaching You - Companion Pieces [7]
Category: Free!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Humor, learning how to flirt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-08
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-23 10:48:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2544821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chezmeralda/pseuds/Chezmeralda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nitori just might regret even coming here. Only, he won't regret it, not when he's positive this is the only place to go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Learning to Flaunt It

**Author's Note:**

> Been too long peeps.

Ai found himself standing in front of the rather lovely salon/boutique that sported butterfly and flower motifs on its front window and he had to wonder why he even thought this would be a good idea.

Of course, the person in charge of said salon would be more than willing to help him, and from the things Ai had observed he was sure he was more than a little qualified. Not that knowing any of this comforted him. In fact it did little to quell the slow regret seeping through his chest as he pushed open the salon door, bell jingling to indicate his arrival.

"Welcome," a friendly looking young lady with very strong make up and radiantly purple hair called to him from the front desk and he shuffled forward, both embarrassed and intimidated by how well made up she looked. "Did you have an appointment today?"

"Uh," AI shuffled through his wallet a bit frantically before he pulled out a small piece of paper, scrawled all over with pink pen. "It's not really an official appointment, b-but he said this would do."

The girl took the note from him and he stood there anxiously. "Friendly with my boss, huh?" she said a moment later in amusement as she got up. "I'll go get him, make yourself comfortable over there."

Ai nodded and turned in the direction she pointed, a comfortable looking lounge area with some magazines. He sat down, perched at the very end of one of the plush chairs and bounced his knees. He really, _really_ should have considered the repercussions of coming here but-

"Ai-chan!"

There was no turning back now.

Ai turned to look at Hazuki, who was standing there in pastels and a too large cardigan with a stylist's utility belt strapped around his waist. He noted that there was faded pink on the underside of his hair, pinned with small snap clips to keep his bangs out of his eyes.

"Hello, Hazuki-san," he said politely as he stood up. He was immediately startled when Hazuki grabbed his wrists, pulling him towards the inner parts of the salon.

"Aww, don't be like that Ai-chan," Hazuki pouted at him as he walked back to a secluded stylist chair, probably for special customers that Hazuki deemed worthy of his time. "I'm here to help you, the least you could do is call me Nagisa or something."

Ai looked at Hazu - _Nagisa_ \- before sighing a little. "Alright, then, Nagisa-san," he conceded after a while.

"No," Nagisa pouted, "Nagi-chan."

"Nagisa- _san_."

" _Nagi-chan_."

"Nagisa-san, _please_ , we don't have time for this," Ai smashed his hands over his face as he stared at Nagisa, who was looking at him with the most obnoxious of grins. 

Nagisa merely shook his head before dragging him into the salon chair. "I'll get you to call me Nagi-chan soon," he said as he ruffled Ai's hair. "Now, what exactly did you want today? A trim? A colouring?"

Ai felt heat rise to his cheeks and he began to play with his hands. "Anything," he mumbled, staring at his lap, "that might make me more attractive..."

Nagisa's hands stopped ruffling Ai's hair and he spun the chair around to face him. Ai squeaked with surprise at the speed and he couldn't help but stare wide eyed at Nagisa. "More _what_?" Nagisa practically yelped.

"A-t-t-t-t-t-ttractive," Ai felt his head hit the back of the chair as Nagisa's face inched closer to his and he squeezed his eyes shut, a quiet whine resting near the back of his throat. 

" _Ai-chan_ ," Nagisa was almost scolding now, "what makes you think you aren't _attractive_?"

Ai breathed a bit easier when Nagisa backed off a bit, and he sighed before giving him a sort of pathetic smile. "I-it's just that," he began after a while, "I'm not really getting the sort of... attention... that I want."

Nagisa tilted his head with confusion, staring at Ai with large eyes. "What sort of attention are you talking about?" he asked, and Ai felt embarrassment well up in him all over again.

"N-nothing too narcissistic in particular," he stuttered, "but just sort of... maybe kind of... like... r... c... i... est..."

"What? Ai-chan, you're going to have to speak up," Nagisa leaned forward to hear him better.

"Ro... nti... erest..." Ai could feel his tongue turn into jelly.

"Ro what?"

"Romantic interest!" Ai squeaked as he slapped his hands over his face. He could feel every vein in his body pulse with embarrassment. 

He peeked through his fingers to see Nagisa smiling at him widely and openly, eyes bugging out with excitement. "Ai-chan!" he practically shrieked in his ear as he jumped on him in a full on hug. "Who is it?"

Ai groaned a little as he let his hands get pulled away from his face. "Is it someone I know?" Nagisa pressed on as he shook on Ai's wrists. "Do I know them?"

"... It's Rin-san," he finally admitted, keeping his eyes trained down to Nagisa's loafers. There was a pause between them before Nagisa's hands let go of him, and he looked up carefully.

Nagisa's hands were covering his mouth, and Ai could tell he was smiling. "I _knew_ it," he said. Ai blinked. "Rei owes me lunch."

"What?" Ai was puzzled, and he continued to stare at Nagisa as he planted his hands on his hips, a triumphant smile etched across his face.

"Oh, come on, Ai-chan. You're not telling me that you thought you were hiding your feelings?" Nagisa asked. "The only person who doesn't know is Rin-chan, because he's dumb. Great, but dumb."

Ai blushed from the roots of his hair all the way down to his toes as Nagisa turned the chair around to face the mirror. He was threading his fingers through Ai's hair, and Ai couldn't help but watch Nagisa in the reflection of the mirror. "When was the last time you got a hair cut?"

"Maybe a month ago?" he replied. Did it look that bad?

"And where did you go for it?" Nagisa rolled out his supplies on the vanity in front of them.

He shrugged. "Some shop in my neighbourhood."

Nagisa looked at him through the reflection of the mirror with a disapproving gaze. "Now, now, Ai-chan. You should take the time to treat your hair better! A local place isn't always a good thing I mean look at this," he shook Ai's hair with his fingers. "It doesn't go back into place. It doesn't bounce. It looks shaggy. Honestly, I wonder how people can go about their day like this."

Ai wasn't sure if he should take it as a personal offense. He did decide to come here on his own after all. "Well, I don't quite see the problem," he replied.

Nagisa wagged a finger at him before he took out a strange bowl with a candle lit underneath it. Ai looked at it with suspicious eyes, as the bowl was filled with what looked like lard. "Listen, Ai-chan. If you want to look good for Rin-chan, that's nice, but you have to take care of yourself! Don't you know that confidence is one of the sexiest things people have?"

"S-sexy?" Ai blushed all over again, unable to associate that word with him. He'd gotten 'cute' and 'sweet' over the years, but never, _ever_ even thought of the word 'sexy'.

"Yeah," Nagisa looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Oh my God, Ai-chan, don't tell me you came in here thinking you weren't going to leave looking sexy?"

"W-well, I, uh-"

"Ai-chan," Nagisa leaned on the vanity, and Ai noted that he had gloves on. "You're going to leave here more confident, and then Rin will be all over you."

Ai looked down at his lap. "I-I don't know-"

"All _over_ you Ai-chan," Nagisa placed his hands on Ai's shoulders. "Your dick will be in his mouth in no time."

"Nagisa-san!" he felt appalled. Was Nagisa always like this?

He hardly had time to process how he should respond to Nagisa's choice of words when he felt a warm, smooth sensation pouring over his head. His eyes fluttered closed at the sensation involuntarily. "This is a hot oil treatment," Nagisa supplied him, even as his head was pressed back to lean on the cushioned head rest. "It'll repair any damage you've got, plus it feels nice, right?"

"Mmmmmm," Ai hummed. He hadn't really treated himself before, it felt nice. The warmth made him want to shiver, running all the way up his spine, but it felt so relaxing, and the way Nagisa's fingers were massaging his scalp-

If he wasn't careful, he'd fall asleep.

"I'm going to fix your hair, give you a bit of layer, trim the back for a smoother undercut, and give you some bangs. How's that sound?" Ai could barely respond, and he just hummed softly.

\---

"Alright, you're all rinsed. Time for a cut," Nagisa flapped the cape over Ai's shoulders. Ai fidgeted a bit under the cape as Nagisa combed out his hair to begin his trim.

"Um, Nagisa-san," he asked timidly as Nagisa pushed his head forward to begin shaving at the back. "Why are you so keen on helping me?"

"What do you mean?" Nagisa said.

"Well, I mean... It's not like we're that close. We only know each other from high school, but we've never really hung out," he clarified. 

Nagisa shrugged as he began to fringe the ends of his hair, adding subtle layers. "Why wouldn't I help you?" he replied. "It takes more effort to say 'No, I can't do that' and give you an excuse than 'Sure, why not' and help you out."

Ai felt the chair swivel around and in a moment, Nagisa's cheery face was right in front of his. "Time for your bangs," he said happily. "I'm going to sweep them a bit more to the side."

Ai watched the concentration on Nagisa's face for a moment, noticing the way that he really took his work seriously despite the frivolity that made up most of his personality. Perhaps he was basing that on what he knew of him from high school, but it didn't seem to be entirely off either. Nagisa had always been someone that Ai couldn't understand, being so opposite of Rin, who was someone he admired a lot, and yet was still close friends with him,

"Alright, done," Nagisa smiled proudly. "Take a look at yourself."

Ai closed his eyes as the chair spun back around towards the mirror. He took a breath before he slowly opened one, then opened the other. His eyebrows raised as he looked at his hair. It wasn't totally different from his old hairstyle, but the minor adjustments made it look more natural, more clean and fresh, and the oil treatment was doing wonders for the shine that he thought he'd been losing. He reached up tentatively to tug at a tuft near his cheek.

"Go on, play with it," Nagisa reached out and gave it a gentle ruffle, before letting his hair fall back into place. Ai reached up and mimicked Nagisa, playing his hair and flicking it around, enjoying the way that it fell on his head.

"Thank you, Nagisa-san," he murmured a bit wistfully.

If Nagisa hadn't been beaming before, he certainly was now. "You're welcome, Ai-chan," he chirped.

Confidence, huh? Ai supposed he could have a little bit of that.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to hazard a guess that Nagisa wouldn't actually know about Ai's little crush on Rin, if you consider they aren't really close in the anime. I mean, he might _suspect_ , but let's just say he's not going to assume until he's got hard evidence.


End file.
